A Kilvington Grammar teacher checked on Lachlan at 5am the following morning, and while he was initially coherent, Lachlan said he had no energy and started to slur his speech.
The teacher found his blood glucose levels were high, and after checking again two minutes later, went to wake the World Challenge trip leader. He was taken to hospital, where the teacher used Google Translate on his mobile, to try to explain Lachlan’s condition to staff.
Lachlan was moved to intensive care but had a cardiac arrest and was flown by air ambulance to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where he was declared brain-dead and taken off life support.
An inquest by the Coroners Court of Victoria in December 2023 found Lachlan’s death was “preventable and a tragedy to all who knew and loved him”.
Coroner Audrey Jamieson found Lachlan died from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage, due to the complication from his diabetes.
In providing her assessment, Jamieson said the circumstances contributing to Lachlan’s death had been easily avoidable and rectifiable. The WorkSafe matter is listed for a filing hearing at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on April 30.
Kilvington Grammar and World Challenge Expeditions have been contacted for comment.
With Jewel Topsfield
More to come.
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Source Agencies
